


Soul-Searcher

by Moonlitgems



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Friendship, Light Angst, M/M, Soulmates, fluff?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:02:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22517440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlitgems/pseuds/Moonlitgems
Summary: In their world, it's common to wear a necklace that heats up when you are near your soulmate. Though, even if you know that someone is your soulmate. Does that really mean you can be together?
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	Soul-Searcher

'He had completely lost his mind.' Those were the words that pass through Armin's mind as he watched his best friend beat the ever-loving-snot out of the school gym's punching bag. It wasn't unusual, Eren Jaeger was a boxer after all. It was just the intensity of anger that reflected in the other teens eyes that made Armin worry over his friends current state of being.

There was also the fact that his best friend, Armin Arlert, had appeared in the gym two hours prior. They hadn't said more than a greeting to each other, if you called Eren glancing his way, between punches, a 'greeting'. He couldn't always tell what his friend was thinking, but he could tell when Eren was feeling a certain way. Right now, he was at a loss for what to do, other than to sit there and watch him. Not that that was a problem. He enjoyed watching Eren Box. The way the other teen moved was calculated, each punch planned out to take down his opponent, even if he was just blowing off steam.

Eren was the complete opposite of him. Eren was tall and muscular, toned to perfection by his crazy work out routine. His dark hair always seemed to be messy, even when he brushes it down. And there was just something about the way it fell into his deep stone colored eyes that could steal your train of thought away, which Armin would never admit to happening, mind you. He always wore comfortable clothing, even if it showed off his arms or chest a bit too much.

In fact, he was the complete opposite. His body much thinner, refusing to build up any sort of muscle, despite how often he worked out with Eren. His blond hair was always hung neatly around his face and in his eyes. He was never confident in his looks, which caused him to hide what little muscle he had under baggy clothing.

None of that had ever mattered to Armin. He didn't care about how Eren looked. What he did care about, however, was the underlying pain underneath those angry eyes. Something was clearly bothering Eren. He'd clearly ignored Armin when he entered the room. Had been the entire time he was here and Armin was getting a bit upset over it.

“Eren,” He called out to his friend, letting those angry eyes glare at him, as he held out a water bottle. “Take a break and talk to me, please,” He said, knowing his friend would reject his proposal.

“I don't want to talk,” but, he did take the water bottle from Armin and downed its contents. “I just need to beat the shit out of something,” Eren said, setting the bottle down on the bench and moving back toward the bag.

“Hitting that thing won't make you feel better, you know,” He said, truly just wanting to know how to help Eren.

“What do you know! You can't do anything either!” It was a mistake. His words didn't even make much sense. It was more to himself than to Armin. He could see it clearly on Eren's face, that it wasn't meant to be said out loud, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. “Armin. I'm sor-”

“I'll go refill your water bottle,” He said, cutting Eren's apology off. Eren didn't need to apologize for that. Armin didn't need to apologize either. Eren was upset over something, but if he didn't want to talk, then Armin won't keep talking. It wasn't until he was out the door, did he even realize that the was grasping at his necklace, that was under his shirt.

It was called a 'soul-searcher', a charm that linked you to your 'soulmate'. It would heat up and start to glow, if you ever encountered your fated person. His had been on fire the moment he'd stepped into the gym and saw Eren. It was foolish to call him Armin's soulmate though. They'd been friends for years and Armin had never once brought it up to him. Armin wasn't even sure Eren knew that they were. Not that it mattered. Eren didn't seem too interested in romantic aspects of a life, despite having a girlfriend.

That sucked, mostly because, it was every person's dream to find that person the 'Fates' had chosen. Many girls fixate on it, like it would lead them to their prince charming, where they would live happily ever after. That when they met this person, their lives would become a thousand times better.

“It's so stupid.” Armin muttered to himself, stopping at the fountain. It frustrated him to think about because once he had been so obsessed with that sort of thing. Keeping his hand on his necklace as he walked through crowds, trying to hard to find the one person that would never leave him behind. It had all been a foolish endeavor, because his soulmate was someone that he could never truly be with, no matter how much he loved them.

Sighing at his foolish thoughts, he opened the bottle and began filling it. He knew it was pointless to think about, and yet, it was always on his mind. He even went as far as looking up how many soulmates a person could have. His conclusion was that he could have at least three in his life time. Eren was number one. So, even if he were to leave Armin, and disappear from his life, he'd have two more shots. Not that it hurt any less to think about, though.

It was starting to be too late in the day to be thinking about such depressing things. He was Eren's best friend. They'd been of friends for a few years. Nothing more. Nothing less. He'd come to terms with that, but that didn't change the moments when he over steps his boundaries. When he returned to the gymnasium, he'd apologize and leave Eren alone for now. Maybe bring it back up in a few days. With that thought in his mind, he walked back into the gym to find Eren sitting on the ground, leaning up against a wall. His head was hung low as his bloody knuckles rested on his legs.

Armin's hand found it's way back to his necklace. Trying to keep the charm from burning his skin under his shirt, he moved forward forcing himself to ignore how his heart ached at the site. He couldn't help but let his eyes fall onto Eren's own neck and how damaged it was. Snapped in half from what he was told, but the reason why was a story Eren told to a very select few. Armin himself didn't even know the reason for such a cruel punishment.

What sort of monster would you have to be-to break your own son's soul-searcher, was what Armin had thought, when Eren had shown him his charm. A broken soul-searcher would not react to your fated person. It wouldn't heat up, even to your own body temperature. It was always ice cold, frigged against the bare skin. And, once one was broken, there was no replacing or repairing it. Once it was damaged, you'd lost your advantage in finding them.

Just the site of Eren wearing it made him sad. The only reason he started wearing it again was so his girlfriend could tell others that they were 'soulmates' because she felt warmth on hers, but Eren couldn't because his was 'broken'.

“She broke up with me, you know,” Eren said as though he knew the person that had just walked in was Armin. “She said, that no matter how much she got to know me or how deep we 'felt' for each other, her soul-searcher just didn't heat up. So, she ended it,” He said, pressing his palms into his eyes. “Even after she said that that shit didn't matter to her.”

“It's her loss then,” He said, before he could stop himself. Eren just looked up at him with the most annoyed look in his eyes, but Armin just sighed. “That was a shitty way to respond, sorry.” He said sitting down beside Eren. Eren just shook his head and laughed.

“I wouldn't be so bothered by it, if I hadn't actually started to like her. You know, as a woman, which doesn't happen often, according to Annie.” Eren looked down at his charm and grimaced, before pulling it off his neck. “This 'tradition' sucks,” He said, glaring at the charm, but just setting it between him and Armin.

“It is a stupid tradition, but people do fall in love for many reasons. 'Love' is more than just a stupid celestial charm heating up and telling you 'this is the guy you should bang',” He said, a scowl forming on his face as he picked up Eren's charm, feeling how freezing cold it was. It was strange, considering it had been around Eren's neck, but he'd held it before and it's never even been slightly warm. “It's a good concept in practice, but-” He pulled the charm close to his chest, wishing it would warm up to his touch just a little bit. “Soulmates aren't always lovers, despite what society says. They're people too! Even if you do 'connect' on a deep level, that won't guarantee that you're fated to fall in love, get married, or whatever Society as a whole thinks!” He thought of all the threads he read online, where their 'soulmates' rejected them because they were of the same gender, or even a different race. It was sickening that Society, as a whole, praises these soul-searchers, but only when it conforms to their beliefs. “Sometimes-your soulmate is much more than that. Like a sibling-or your...best friend,” He said, feeling a bit embarrassed by his own words. “And even if you do love them, they might not love you back in the same way. There's just more than one type of love. I guess, what I am trying to say-” Armin realized he was getting off track here. He wasn't talking to the girl that dumped Eren, but the one he loved. Eren didn't need this. “She just doesn't realize how good she had it. She'll come to regret giving up such a good guy for someone she doesn't even know yet,” He said, trying to turn his ramblings around and stop contradicting himself. He was failing miserably, if he took the look on Eren's face into account.

“You suck at comforting people, you know that.” A smile formed on his face despite his comment as he laid his head onto Armin's shoulder.

“I'm the dateless wonder-nerd. So, my skill levels are pretty low in this category,” He said, feeling that him talking was only making Eren feel worse.

“I'm the same way, though,” He said, with a weak laugh. “I wish these stupid things didn't exist.” Armin wished lots of things didn't exist, but they did. Neither of them could change that. All he could do was sit there and start up at the ceiling, trying to keep his heart steady, so Eren didn't hear it.

They sat there for a long while, neither of them saying anything or moving from their position on the ground. It was the best he could do for Eren, who always seemed so closed off. His words would only become a jumbled mess and make Eren feel worse.

“I'm hungry. Want to go hit a burger joint with me,” Eren said, holding out his hand to take his necklace back.

“We should get your hands cleaned up first,” Armin said holding out the necklace to give it back to Eren. “It has to hurt.”

“I've had worse,” He said, letting Armin drop the soul-searcher into his hand. Eren quickly jerked his hand as the charm touched his bare skin. “Ouch, son-of-a-” He shouted dropping his necklace onto the ground, shaking his hand like it was burnt.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I guess my hand is a little more sore than I thought it was,” Eren said, with a weak laugh as he picked his soul-searcher up by it's chain.

“Maybe we should take you to urgent care,” Armin said, quickly taking the hand Eren had hurt into his own. “What if you broke something.” Armin was more focused on Eren's hands to notice that Eren was staring down at him with a curious look and a small blush on his face. “Does it hurt when I do this?”

“Nope,” Eren said, letting Armin examine his hand. Armin made sure to curve every finger, while checking for swelling and other signs of broken bones. “I'll be fine.” Eren said, pulling his hand away, but Armin just rolled his eyes.

“It could be serious.”

“What can we do? Put a cast on it?” Armin knew that there wasn't much to do if he broke a finger, other than stinting it. “I don't need to go to a doctor to do that, you know.” He said standing up

“That's not going to help your hands,” Armin said as Eren wrapped a damp arm around him. “Ew...At least shower off, you reek of sweat,” Armin said, pushing him away. Eren just let out a laugh holding up his hands in surrender.

“Fine~I'll shower-but you got to come eat with me.” Eren walked over to his gym back and picked it up.

“I never said 'no',” Armin said watching Eren look at him with a slight grin before he walked off into the locker rooms. It left Armin with a sense that the other was up to something or discovered something that he didn't understand.

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a short story I wrote for 2018's Eremin Week, but I used a Tumblr prompt and felt uncomfortable using it. I found it and decided it to post it because I did spend all that time writing it.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it at least a little bit.  
> ~Moon


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